Giving a refund prior to receiving payment

[Chris1837]

Hello all. I have a strict cancellation policy and recently had a guest cancel. AirBnB gave them a partial refund and the guest is requesting the rest be refunded by me. My question is. I haven’t actually received payment and won’t until July. Should I issue a refund now or wait until after oayment is received? I feel they have legitimate reason to cancel so I want to make things right. I just don’t want to issue a refund and lose money. Hopefully this makes sense. Thanks in advance.  

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

LOL, @Chris1837  some people have funny ideas 😄

You have a strict cancellation policy

He agreed to it before booking

He canceled

He will be refunded according to your policy

Just decline his request and tell him it is between Airbnb and him. Airbnb is in charge for payments and refunds. He paid to Airbnb and is refunded by Airbnb and you have nothing to do with this.

[Janet533]

That’s what I like about AirBnB; they do all the money transactions.

[Heather106]

@Chris1837  You should have received an email from airbnb stating that the guest has cancelled and has been refunded the amount as per your cancellation policy. In the email there should also be an option for you to refund the full amount if you choose to. You can also go to your reservations tab on your dashboard and the option to fully refund should be there as well. However, I would reconsider and let the guest know that you’ll refund any days that you are able to re-book. 

[Heather106]

@Chris1837  And since you haven’t been paid the money yet and won’t until July, if you choose to refund all, you just won’t receive that payout. 

[Chris1837]

Thanks guys, very helpful!  She said her husband needed emergency surgery so i wanted to do the right thing. 

[Linda108]

@Chris1837   Probably this situation would qualify for extenuation circumstances full refund as long as Air BNB receives proof of the emergent situation.  Also, be careful about refunding in full unless you know that they have paid in full.  Many guests opt to make partial payment and the final payment is not collected until 2 weeks before check in.  Basically, I suggest you let Air BNB handle the issue.